Welcome to the new-look Thoughts newsletter! You will notice we have moved to a quarterly cadence and a more free-flowing format where articles might extend beyond one page–that is, in the PDF (below), which we believe is the best format to enjoy this publication. We made these changes to give us more room to cover complex issues in depth, and because we value data visualization and have always wanted to have more and bigger charts. While some things have changed, we still aim to write articles of interest to our clients about financial topics and often, more broadly, about the increasingly complex world around us. And, of course, we are still producing the Hanson Index, 40 years on…
WHAT’S INSIDE THE ISSUE…
While we are taking a fresh look at Thoughts, we thought it was high time to bring those who work behind the scenes to the front pages and explain some of the structure under the hood of how we operate.
By Mark Andrews
The Hanson Index is back in its 40th year! Our annual index of local prices measures inflation in our community and how it has fared versus the national statistics.
By Yuliya Paylor and Evan Pemberton
Artificial Intelligence, but for whom?
After taking a look at the landscape of AI offerings in a previous edition, we turn to our next question: who is actually using AI?
By Anne Doremus
Cory Doctorow explains how tech platforms follow a three-step plan to suck value out of customers and businesses while locking us into worse and worse offerings.
By Neil Macker
Chart of the Quarter – Where the world gets its energy
From Visual Capitalist, an infographic on the energy mix used by the world’s top economies
